During protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, there were clashes between police and protesters in France on Saturday for the third consecutive night. Trash cans and dumpsters were set on fire in Paris and police used tear gas. As reported by the news channel “BFMTV”, citing police circles, 81 people were arrested. About 4,000 protesters attended the rally.
Protests also erupted in other cities across the country, including Nantes, Marseille and Bordeaux. People reject the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64 that President Emmanuel Macron imposed on Thursday, ignoring a parliamentary vote. A broad alliance of the main French unions announced new actions to reverse the increase. In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets against the plans. On Friday, 61 people were temporarily arrested during the protests.
As a result of the protests, mountains of garbage also pile up in the capital. There was also a strike at refineries on Saturday. Around 37% of workers at TotalEnergies’ refineries and warehouses stopped working. Strikes also continued on the railways.
Raise the retirement age
Macron justified raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by saying that otherwise the pension system would collapse. Afraid of a defeat in parliament, his government approved the plan without a vote and invoked an article in the constitution that allows for it. Raising the retirement age is one of the president’s most important projects.
Observers said ignoring the vote was evidence that Macron’s ability to organize majorities for reform projects had been undermined. This is now likely to affect future projects as well, he said.
The protests of the past three days are reminiscent of the “yellow vest” rallies that erupted in late 2018 over high fuel prices and forced Macron to do a partial U-turn at the time. (apa)